A mix of tenacity, steadfast ideals and prescient economic predictions has transformed U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas from a quorum of one in Congress to a recognized leader of the crusade to rein in the federal government’s reach and spending. The libertarian-leaning Paul, 76, doesn’t claim party insider status like Newt Gingrich or executive experience like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Supporters say his political clout lies in the clarity and consistency of his policy vision.

“Up until now, I think many would say he was the loneliest man in the House of Representatives,” said Nick Gillespie, editor in chief of the online platforms of Reason, a libertarian magazine. “But there are so many examples of where politics has now kind of caught up to where he’s been for quite some time.”

The most prominent illustration: Paul’s recruitment of 320 legislators from both sides of the aisle to co-sponsor his 2009 bill calling for the first-ever audit of the Federal Reserve.

Concerns about the U.S. monetary system had prompted the 12-term congressman to first run for office in the 1970s. Starting in 1983, he repeatedly introduced legislation calling for an audit of the Fed before finally gaining its passage two years ago.

The resulting examination, conducted by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, revealed that the Fed made $16 trillion in loans to American and foreign banks and businesses during the 2008 economic crisis and lacked sufficient protocols to address conflicts of interests.

Back in 2002, he also used his theories about the Fed’s operations to predict the 2007 housing bubble, a trigger of the subsequent global recession.

Today, Paul chairs the Congressional Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee and is joined by a chorus of lawmakers from both parties calling for reforms at the central bank.

And, after America’s decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, more of Paul’s Republican brethren show respect for his noninterventionist foreign policy.

“While he certainly is very independent, he’s also someone that people pay attention to,” said Ohio representative and former Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. “He’s someone whose credentials do speak on the issues of our time, and, in many cases, he’s been borne out to have been right.”
COMMUNICATION SKILLS

The rise of Ron Paul comes with seemingly little help from the man himself.

Although his books “Liberty Defined,” “The Revolution: A Manifesto” and “End the Fed” have scaled the New York Times’ best-seller list, Paul struggles to reach beyond the ranks of his ideological companions.

He confessed to audience members at a forum sponsored by the Family Leader in Des Moines last month that he agonizes over his debate performances.

He also told the Register that communication remains his weakness on the campaign trail.

“I’m most proud of my message, but I keep working on my ability to deliver it,” he said.

The cerebral Paul isn’t likely to stumble a la Herman Cain when answering questions about U.S. involvement in Libya. He likely won’t confuse Concord, N.H., with Concord, Mass., like Michele Bachmann did.

His challenge lies in boiling down complex economic and foreign policy issues until they resonate with the average American.

Paul resists tempering his views to appeal to voters. For example, he stuck to his guns in a May debate when asked about his controversial campaign to end federal drug laws.

“We cannot get him to say or to do something for his own political advantage,” said senior adviser Doug Wead, who was a special assistant to the president in the George H.W. Bush White House. “He’s just a principled person.”

After falling short in his 2008 quest for the GOP nomination, Paul’s campaign revamped its playbook to cater to the congressman’s plain-spoken style. Although he’s made a few appearances before large audiences — including a University of Iowa rally that drew 1,200 people in October — most of his 2011 stump speeches have been delivered to crowds of 200 voters or less.

“He likes to connect with people on a smaller level, and that’s why we’ve done a lot of retail this campaign — a lot of town halls, a lot of meet-and-greets,” said campaign chairman Jesse Benton. “He realizes that he’s a very policy-driven person and that these issues are complex. He doesn’t want to deal in sound bites when he can help it.”

That said, the congressman hasn’t conceded the cable news airwaves to his competitors.

Leading up to the 2008 caucuses, Paul started viewing videos of his speeches online, said former electronic campaign director, Justine Lam.

“By watching YouTube videos and seeing other people’s edits, he started adjusting his speech to make it better,” she said. “He stopped rambling so much, just because he saw what other people were valuing in his speech.”
POLICY VISION

No matter how he packages his message, the key tenets of Ron Paul’s political philosophy have remained unchanged for more than 40 years.

He believes in free trade and private property rights. He opposes government regulation, involvement overseas and deficit spending.

Paul also advocates withdrawal from the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, saying the organizations undermine national sovereignty.

“He doesn’t evolve his positions; his positions evolve from his views,” said Peter Schliff, who served as the congressman’s economic adviser in 2008. “Ron Paul supports what he supports, regardless of whether or not it’s going to get him votes.”

Paul has never voted for tax hikes, an unbalanced budget or a congressional pay raise — actions that have helped earn him an “A” grade annually since 1997 from the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union.

Paul has vowed in his first year as president to make $1 trillion in spending cuts, in part by ending all foreign wars and foreign aid, and eliminating the departments of education, housing, interior, energy and commerce.

Paul also promises to accept a presidential salary of $39,336 — the median income of the average American. President Barack Obama earns $500,000 annually.

He has changed his mind regarding only one major policy issue. When first elected, he supported the federal death penalty. Now, he believes it should be an issue handled solely by the states.

Paul was one of six Republicans to stand against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. He continues to speak out against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, positions that earn him applause from Iowa supporters like Nate Smith, 30, of Cedar Falls.

“It’s extremely refreshing to hear amongst all the other politicians that kind of flip-flop back and forth,” Smith said after listening to Paul last month in Vinton. “He’s so consistent in what he believes in that you don’t worry about what will happen if he gets elected.”

But his noninterventionist foreign policy also gives many conservatives pause. His strict adherence to that view, perhaps to the detriment of his electability, was on full display at the final pre-caucus debate, on Dec. 15.

On a stage filled with rivals who consider the potential of a nuclear-armed Iran to be the greatest threat facing the United States, Paul suggested that worries about Iran’s potential nuclear capabilities are exaggerated.

“To me the greatest danger is that we will have a president who will overreact, and we will soon bomb Iran,” he said.

Michele Bachmann immediately called his statements “dangerous.” The next day, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Paul “is just wrong on this issue. You can’t make nice with the mullahs.”

Craig Robinson, editor of TheIowaRepublican.com and a former Republican Party of Iowa political director, said Paul “shut off everyone” who isn’t already a Paul supporter.
DECISION-MAKING STYLE

Ron Paul hands out free pocket-sized copies of the Constitution at his Iowa campaign events, and says the document is his guide to determining where to stand on the issues of the day.

His “Dr. No” nickname derives in part from his opposition to bills he believes overstep the powers of the legislative branch.

“Ron Paul has always said his basic test is that he looks at the Constitution and sees whether or not a law or the legislation under consideration is even something Congress should be considering,” said Nick Gillespie of Reason magazine. “Nine times out of 10, it’s not.”

After nearly a quarter century in Congress, Paul says he no longer labors over specific policy decisions. He quickly anticipates where he’ll stand on an issue, but constantly seeks out information to augment his arguments.

“He’s always reading several books, and every day, he prints out hundreds of pages of different articles online from a variety of different news sources,” said Jesse Benton, Paul’s top aide on the campaign trail.

Paul keeps his iPad close when he travels, and monitors the markets with it.

He also uses short, clipped emails — alternating with thoughtful conversations — to debate and define his own policy points with friends and colleagues, said campaign adviser Doug Wead.

“It’s seldom that I ever meet anyone who can change my mind, but Ron Paul’s managed to do it several times,” Wead said, noting that he’s been swayed by the congressman’s arguments for neutrality in the Israel/Palestine conflict and for the federal decriminalization of drug use.

“… If it was by email, he’d respond with very short notes, kindly saying, ‘No, I don’t agree with you … and here’s the reason,’ ” Wead said. “If it was verbal and face-to-face, he would listen, and let me talk without arguing. He cherishes different opinions.”

Paul also regularly trolls the Internet, looking for better ways to assert his positions.

“The only way I’ve noticed I can ever influence him is if I write a blog, and a few weeks later I’ll see him using some of my language,” Wead said. “If I were to send him that language in a memo, he’d never use it. But if he finds it on his own on the Internet and it makes sense to him, he’ll adopt it.”
MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Ron Paul takes a similarly independent approach to the management of his congressional and campaign offices.

He keeps a close eye on expenses in the Washington office — returning more than $100,000 of the federal funds allotted to his office in 2010 — but rarely gets involved in day-to-day operations of either organization, aides say.

“He puts people that he trusts in positions, and then allows them to have free rein,” said campaign aide Jesse Benton. “He wants to make sure that he is able to focus on the important things, the over-arching policy, rather than making minute decisions about which town to have a town hall in or anything like that.”

Paul does, however, call the staff together for postmortems following campaign events and debates.

“He likes to review things and see what went wrong, what we could do better,” Benton said.

Supporters say that sort of gritty dissection is exactly what’s needed in the White House to spur significant spending cuts or to guide new national defense policies.

“It would be a radically different method of government,” said Luke Priest, 27, the candidate’s Benton County caucus chair. “He’s not going in there to push any agenda. His only goal is going to be to follow the Constitution.”